Mistakenly called the Tibetan Barberry, the berber dereza or goji berry has nothing to do with the barberry family, but in Russia it is considered its direct descendant. The secret of this misunderstanding, as well as the beneficial properties of the goji miracle berry, is the subject of this article, where you can find answers to many questions, including those related to the cultivation of goji berries in the garden.

Content

1. Goji or Tibetan Barberry
2. Where does goji berry grow?
3. The miraculous properties of goji berries  video
4. Goji berries and weight loss
5. How to grow goji berries?

Goji or Tibetan Barberry

From a botanical point of view, goji is a creeping ligneous shrub belonging to the nightshade family. Outwardly, it is a plant, the vine of which is sometimes able to reach three meters in length and is covered with thorns. Fruits of a small elongated shape in all shades of red from coral to bright scarlet. Despite the fact that the fruits of goji berry have a lot of useful properties, immature berries have toxic properties due to the high content of alkaloids. That is why only ripe and slightly dried fruits are suitable for consumption.

Goji berries are called Tibetan barberries for several reasons, the first of which is due to external similarities with representatives of the barberry family. At first glance, there are a lot of common signs: one and the other shrubs whose branches are equipped with thorns and red oval berries. That's all, but what are the differences? If you look closely, there are many more: the shape of the leaves, the color and structure of the flowers, but the main difference is the taste, which has a bright citrus note in goji berries.

Where does goji berry grow?

Another reason due to which the kinship with Tibetan barberry is attributed to the goji berry is the place of natural growth of the common dereza. It has long been known that the birthplace of the miraculous berry is Tibet, where high in the mountains they were discovered by Tibetan monks. Where does goji grow today? At the moment, the distribution area of \u200b\u200bberries is much wider. They are cultivated on the plateaus of the Chinese provinces, in East Turkmenistan, which is an ecologically clean area located near Tibet, as well as in the Himalayas and even America.

The miraculous properties of goji berries

There are legends about the miraculous properties of goji. Goji plant has long been used as the most valuable elixir in Chinese medicine, but in other countries the plant is just beginning to gain popularity.

The use of goji berries is recommended for patients with various forms of pathological processes and physiological abnormalities, since the spectrum of useful substances contained in the miraculous berry is extremely high. The main healing effects of drugs from a natural pharmacy are due to the content of a whole spectrum of amino acids in it, most of which are not replenished with the help of the reserves of the human body, as well as more than twenty minerals and trace elements and a group of polysaccharides found only in goji berries.

The main effects of goji berry are as follows:

1. Careful protection of cellular structures from damage during free radical oxidation;

2. A clear focus on the prevention of gastrointestinal ulcerative lesions, obesity urinary and cholelithiasis;

3. Participation in the normalization of the elastic properties of blood vessels and strength characteristics of the vascular wall;

4. Bringing the blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol-containing components to a normal level;

5. Stimulation of specific and non-specific mechanisms of immunological tolerance;

6. The conversion of substances of consumed food is not in fat, but in the energy component, as a result of which normalization of digestion processes occurs;

7. Direct participation in the normalization of the functional activity of the intestine and the synthesis of normal intestinal microflora;

8. Participation in the active removal of toxic waste products from the body, the so-called bad cholesterol, which is the cause of atherosclerosis and hypertension, as well as salts of heavy metals received from the outside;

9. Improving mood, normalizing the emotional sphere;

10. Elimination of the negative consequences of the postmenopausal period;

11.Increase the general condition of the body and restore strength.

Goji berries and weight loss

Reviews of nutritionists about goji berry regarding its effect on the process of losing weight are confirmed by the mechanism of its effect on the level of metabolic processes. Due to its high content of antioxidants, goji berries accelerate the course of metabolic processes, improve blood circulation, regulate blood sugar and bad cholesterol, and also take a direct part in normalizing hormonal imbalances. This is what determines the proven effectiveness of goji berries regarding weight loss processes.

How to use goji for those who want to quickly lose those extra pounds? According to the advice of domestic nutritionists, in order to stimulate metabolic processes, it is enough to add about 20-30 grams of dried goji fruit to your usual diet in the morning and evening hours. The addition of berries to tea, fruit and vegetable salads, soups and cereals is not forbidden. The bright citrus taste of the berries of the Tibetan barberry diversifies the well-known taste range and gives piquancy to dishes familiar to you. But it must be remembered that the effectiveness of goji berries for weight loss is justified only if they are used daily.

How to grow goji berries?

Today, Europeans have the opportunity to purchase goji berries or seeds over the Internet, but given their high cost, self-growing berries in a garden is recognized as an alternative. Despite the apparent complexity, this is not so problematic. Goji shrub prefers stony soil with a predominance of alkaline component.

Caring for the shrub also does not present any difficulties, due to the plant's resistance to temperature changes, as well as to frost and long rains.

For planting, it is advisable to choose a free site, as the shrub grows quite quickly and thereby can negatively affect the growth of surrounding crops. From the point of view of landscape designers, hedges can be organized from bushes.

Growing goji is possible with both cuttings and seeds. Seeds before direct planting need to be soaked for several hours in warm water, and then planted in a substrate substance for germination. In this case, favorable climatic conditions must be observed, of which the optimum level of humidity, light and temperature are recognized as fundamental.

After 2-4 weeks, when the first leaves appear on the emerged sprouts, you can begin to plant them in open ground.

Approximately in the second year after planting, shrubs grown from seeds will begin to bloom, and after 3-4 years they will begin to bear fruit, so you can regularly include miraculous berries in your usual diet.

Author: Sergey and Svetlana Khuentsov

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